Svante Arrhenius

Chemistry Swedish 1859 – 1927 403 quotes

Ion theory, first to predict greenhouse effect

Quotes by Svante Arrhenius

The true scientist never loses the faculty of amazement. It is the essence of his being.

Essays

The boundary between the living and the non-living is not as sharp as we once thought.

The Destinies of the Stars

Chemistry is the science of substances, their properties, and the transformations that change them into other substances.

Textbook of Chemistry

The electrical conductivity of a solution is a measure of the number of ions present.

Doctoral Thesis 1884

The reaction velocity is doubled for every ten-degree rise in temperature.

On the Reaction Velocity of the Inversion of Cane Sugar by Acids 1889

The concept of activation energy is central to understanding why some reactions occur and others do not.

On the Reaction Velocity of the Inversion of Cane Sugar by Acids 1889

The universe seems to me to be a great cosmic laboratory.

Worlds in the Making

The aim of physical chemistry is to interpret the phenomena of chemistry in terms of physics.

Textbook of Electrochemistry

The dissociation of salts in water is nearly complete.

Theory of Electrolytic Dissociation 1887

The freezing point depression of a solution is proportional to the concentration of solute particles.

Work on Solutions

The osmotic pressure of a solution is proportional to the concentration of the solute.

Work on Solutions

The study of cosmic physics has revealed to us the unity of the material world.

The Destinies of the Stars

The idea of the eternity of life in the universe is not in contradiction with scientific facts.

Worlds in the Making

The propagation of life throughout the universe is a fascinating hypothesis.

Worlds in the Making

The panspermia hypothesis suggests that life could travel between worlds as spores.

Worlds in the Making 1903

The pressure of light may explain the shapes of comet tails.

The Destinies of the Stars

The northern lights are caused by electrically charged particles from the sun.

The Destinies of the Stars

A scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.

Attributed to Max Planck, sometimes misattributed to Arrhenius

The application of physical methods to chemical problems is the most promising path for the advancement of chemistry.

Essays

The future of chemistry lies in the study of ions.

Lectures